Sunday, May 31, 2015

Literature is filed with love
affairs that do not work out. There are plenty of rejected suitors, unrequited
loves, as well as sadness and tragedy. So why focus on one unrequited love
affair that spans the last two books of Anthony Trollope’s The Chronicles of Barsetshire? There are several reasons. One
reason is that this pair is so interesting, is the fact that of all the romances that
seemed “meant to be” in this series,
this is the only one ends unsuccessfully.

The relationship between John and
Lily is complex, full of nuance and false directions. The two grew up as
childhood friends. John fell in love with Lily as they both matured. Lily was
aware of John’s affection, but only saw him as friend. Enter Adolphus Crosbie, a complex
but ultimately untrustworthy and a scheming man who sweeps Lily off of her feet.
The two becomes engaged. Shortly
thereafter however, Crosbie breaks off the engagement when he sees a better
opportunity in a union with the wealthy and connected Lady Alexandrina De
Courcy.

As a result of the broken
engagement, Lilly is plunged into a depression that lasts for years. Though
John proposes to her multiple times she cannot bring herself to see him as
anything other then a friend. She is also still in love with Crosbie.

Over the course of the two
books John’s chances seem to improve. He matures and is seen by all as more
successful and confident. Then years after being jilted, Lily encounters a now
widowed Crosbie, who attempts to resume the relationship with her. Ironically
this encounter seems a tonic to Lily, as the new impression of Crosbie is that
he is not the man she imagined him.

Though she falls out of love
with Crosbie, Lily still seems damaged. She seems to want to bring herself to accept
John’s proposal, but cannot quite bring herself to take the plunge. She rejects
him during what he declares is his final attempt. However she pledges to never
marry anyone else and to die an old maid.

In a poignant passage
Trollope writes,

“I
can only ask the reader to believe that she was in earnest, and express my own
opinion, in this last word that I shall ever write respecting her, that she
will live and die as Lily Dale.”

Likewise there are strong hints
that John will also never marry anyone else.

“Johnny
Eames, when last I heard of him, was still a bachelor, and, as I think, likely
to remain so.”

Because the union of Johnny Eames and Lily Dale
never comes to be, it is unique relationship in The
Chronicles of Barsetshire. The two are the only couple in theseries, that though they seem destined to marry, never actually do. The fact that every other prospective
pair portrayed in the books overcame adversity and entered into relatively
happy marriages, seems to give the failure of this match, some extra gravitas.

Indeed, since the pathetic
end of this aborted union was so different, the reader is left a bit surprised
and emotionally disappointed. I stress emotionally
disappointed because I would argue that the pathos created by this
resolution is aesthetically satisfying and strong.

What are we to make of the life
choices of our protagonists? As is typical of Trollope’s creations, the
thoughts, feelings and motivations of the each is complex, and answers are not
simple.

I think that there are two
distinct things going on with Lily. First, try as she seems to love John, she
can only really view him as friend and not as a romantic interest. Such
feelings and attractions in people are inscrutable and one is tempted to simply
say that such things are what they are, and leave it at that.

But there is more going on here. Lily’s psyche has been irreparably injured by her broken engagement with
Crosbie. He has hurt her in a profound way. Even after she gets over her love
for him she is unable to form a romantic attachment with anyone else. It is
suggested that had Crosbie never come along, she might have eventually
developed different feelings for John. But the damage has been done.

By today’s standards such pinning
over short time relationship for the remainder of one’s life would seem to indicate
at least neurosis. It would not be viewed as normal. Though I do not usually
like to go beyond the text in my commentary, Trollope did write about the
fictional relationship outside of the novels. His comments seem helpful and
relevant,

“Lily Dale, one of
the characters which readers of my novels have liked the best. In the love with
which she has been greeted I have hardly joined with much enthusiasm, feeling
that she is somewhat of a… prig. She became first engaged to a snob, who jilted
her; and then, though in truth she loved another man who was hardly good
enough, she could not extricate herself sufficiently from the collapse of her
first great misfortune to be able to make up her mind to be the wife of one
whom, though she loved him, she did not altogether reverence.”

The above seems to be conclusive evidence that the odd
lifetime rut that Lily, and possibly John, fall into, is not meant to be seen
as normal human response, even in the 19th century.

This is Trollope and he is always complex. Lilly is
far from a shallow person. She is intelligent, lively, and kind. As the above
also indicates, Lilly Dale is admired by many readers.

Another aspect that seems very different concerning
the relationship between this pair is very ironic. Most of the other couples
who struggled to end up together met opposition from friends and/or relatives.
This was true of Major Grantly and
Grace Crawley as well as Mary Thorne and Frank Gresham to name a few. Those couples
overcame this resistance. In contrast, virtually all of John and Lilly’s
friends and relatives are pulling for the two to get married. Many aid John in
his endeavors to woo Lily. Some bring pressure upon Lilly. The irony here is
interesting in that the couples who encountered obstruction ended up marrying
and the one couple who was encouraged to marry by everyone does not end up
together.

I find Trollope to be a mostly optimistic writer.
Oddly enough the sad resolution to the relationship between Lilly and John
gives more weight to his optimism in my eyes. Someone who recognizes that not
everything turns out all right in the end, but who nevertheless views the world
from an optimistic point of view, seems to be on stronger footing. It shows
that the thinker is not just living in a Pollyannaish and unrealistic world,
but instead has derived their opinion from a credible look at reality.

The relationship between Lilly and John is one of many
ways that Trollope looks at the complexity of the human condition. As this is
one relationship that the author has fashioned a little differently, I decided
that a slightly closer look was warranted . It is one of many reasons why I
love The Chronicles of Barsetshire.

My commentary on the first book in the Chronicles of
Barsetshire series, The Warden
is here.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Anthony Trollope’s The Last Chronicle of Barset is the sixth and final book in the The Chronicles of Barsetshire series. Within
the novel’s 928 pages, Trollope fits both an independent story and a
comprehensive wrap up of what has gone on before in the fictional county of
Barsetshire. Many threads that were opened in the series, as well as the fate
of multiple characters, are resolved here.

What is more or less the main plotline involves
Reverend Josiah Crawley, whom we met in
some of the earlier books. A strict and at times harsh man, Crawley is extremely
complex. When he is accused of stealing a small amount of money, he is threatened
with jail and with the loss of his dignity and of his religious procurements. Making
matters worse is that Crawley is often in a state of mental fog, causing
everyone, including himself and the reader, to wonder if the clergyman actually
did appropriate the money in a moment of incoherence. His predicament quickly
becomes entwined with the ongoing ecclesiastical conflict that was begun in Barchester Towers. This conflict, between the
diocese’s Bishop Proudie and his allies and Archdeacon Grantly and hisallies,
is still going on years after it began in the earlier novel. This struggle is
acrimonious, but it is also at times portrayed with a lot of humor.

A major subplot involves Major Grantly, the
Archdeacon’s son, who is wooing of Grace Crawley, the Reverend’s daughter. This
potential union is opposed by Archdeacon Grantly.

Another important subplot concerns the now very self-confident
and successful Johnny Eames, who is still pining for Lily Bart. Lily, for her part, still
seems to be in love with Adolphus Crosbie, who jilted her years earlier. This
aborted engagement was a major component of the plot of The Small House at Allington.

As I alluded to above, there are numerous additional subplots
and characters contained in this voluminous novel.

This book is so long and involves so many characters
and situations that it is difficult to write about it in a concise way. As is
typical of Trollope, it is filled with complex and dynamic characters and interesting
plot developments, as well as creative and lively writing.

Other than the aesthetic and emotional payoff of
reading about the marvelous characters previously introduced in the series one
last time, this book really shines with Trollope’s superb depiction of Crawley.
Introduced earlier in the series, the clergyman here is depicted as an extremely
multifaceted and enormously flawed character that, nevertheless, is not lacking
in virtues.

On the outside, Crawley is a strict and puritanical
religious figure. Rhetorically intimidating, he endures great hardship for his beliefs.
Unfortunately, he also allows his wife and children to suffer as a result of
his refusal to accept charity from others. He also takes some questionable
stances based upon his unbending, and at times illogical, principle. Though a
strict and sincere Christian, on the inside the Reverend is self-pitying,
prideful and resentful of the success of others.

Yet, Crawley is no monster. He has a conscience
despite his stubbornness, and he sometimes compromises his principles to
alleviate the suffering of his wife and children. He is shown to minister and
provide assistance to the worst elements of society that no one else will have
anything to do with. He firmly stands up to some pernicious people who seem to
get away with bullying and intimidating everyone else. Despite some ill advised
and irrational stands on principle, he is an ethical man who often refuses to
waver from a moral path.

Crawly is shown alternately to be mean, kind, stubborn
and hypocritical as well as noble.Trollope’s
portrait of him ranges from tragic to the downright hilarious. Ultimately, he
is a brilliant literary creation.

One of many outstanding passages involving the
Reverend occurs at a point when Crawley is preparing for a confrontation with
Bishop Proudy and the Bishop’s wife, Mrs. Proudy. Mrs. Proudy is malicious,
hypercritical and overbearing. She schemes throughout the diocese to achieve
her own agenda, which is often harmful to others. She has successfully intimidated
her husband, as well as many others, into accommodating her agenda. As Crawley is walking to meet the pair for a
match of wills, he begins to ruminate as follows,

And
yet he would take the bishop in his grasp and crush him,—crush
him,—crush him! As he thought of this he walked quickly through the mud, and
put out his long arm and his great hand, far before him out into the air, and,
there and then, he crushed the bishop in his imagination. Yes, indeed! He
thought it very doubtful whether the bishop would ever send for him a second
time.

Later,

Then
he stalked on, clutching and crushing in his hand the bishop, and the bishop's
wife, and the whole diocese,—and all the Church of England.

There is so much more to this novel. Since it involves
so many subplots and characters, as a stand-alone work, it can seem a little
unfocused. Furthermore, it picks up so many threads from previous books. As
such, I would recommend that this one be read only after completing all of the
other series’ entries. When read at the end, it offers an enormously
entertaining and satisfying wrap for the magnificent Chronicles
of Barsetshire.

My commentary on the first book in the Chronicles of
Barsetshire series, The Warden
is here.